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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

surpâturage touristique

English translation:

being overrun by tourists / spoilt by tourism

Added to glossary by Maria Constant (X)
May 11, 2008 14:02
16 yrs ago
French term

surpâturage touristique

French to English Marketing Tourism & Travel Article on la Côte Bleue
Danger de pollution ici, risque de bétonnage là, menace de surpâturage touristique et d’incendie partout, la Côte Bleue a su résister autant que faire ce peut à la destruction.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +9 being overrun by tourists
4 +6 overgrazing by tourists/tourism
4 +3 COMMENTS ONLY, NFG
3 +3 overwhelmed by flocks of tourists
5 over exploitation by the tourism industry
4 comments only
4 trampling by tourists
4 being swamped by tourists
4 -1 touristic overgrazing
3 tourism overkill
3 touristic saturation
3 stripped by tourists
3 -1 surfeit of food outlets catering for tourists
4 -2 touristc surexploitation
Change log

May 16, 2008 06:13: Maria Constant (X) Created KOG entry

Proposed translations

+9
35 mins
Selected

being overrun by tourists

if you're determined to avoid the "pasture" metaphor!



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Note added at 40 mins (2008-05-11 14:43:22 GMT)
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Oh, and you'll find plenty of g-hits for this. Here are the first of many:

by Guy W. D. Cook, Guy Cook - 2004 - Science - 176 pages
If the thought of being overrun by family and friends is already the Himalayas and high Andes are overrun by tourists, travel agents quick- ...
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0415314674...

Celebrated, not discovered Italy's Puglia region is hardly overrun ...Celebrated, not discovered Italy's Puglia region is hardly overrun by tourists . . . yet The Boston Globe; 10/19/1997; Alison Arnett, Globe Staff; ...
www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-8446144.html - 63k - Cached - Similar pages

Florence Journal;Overrun by Tourists, 'David' Puts His Foot Down ...Florence Journal;Overrun by Tourists, 'David' Puts His Foot Down. E-MAIL · Print · Single-Page; Save. By CELESTINE BOHLEN. Published: May 27, 1996 ...
query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1D81139F934A15756C0A960958260 - 48k - Cached - Similar pages

Game-server flooded by tourists hoping to witness difficult ...17 Jan 2006 ... One of the parallel universes that make up the World of Warcraft (WoW) game has been overrun by tourists who hope to witness the outcome of ...
www.boingboing.net/2006/01/17/gameserver-flooded-b.html - 27k - Cached - Similar pages

Any suggestions about Belgium? [Mobile] - BigSoccerIs there someplace in Europe that won't be crazy hot and overrun by tourists the first full week of August? We're willing to go off the beaten path ...
www.bigsoccer.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-378548.html - 18k - Cached - Similar pages

Vietnam Tourism - Google Books Resultby Arthur Asa Berger - 2005 - Business & Economics - 117 pages
The Friendliness of the Vietnamese People Perhaps because Vietnam hasn't been overrun by tourists, the Vietnamese people are remarkably friendly toward ...
books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=078902571X...


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Note added at 45 mins (2008-05-11 14:48:23 GMT)
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In case you prefer "SPOILT BY TOURISM" , this also gets quite a few g-hits: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q="spoilt...
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : Yes, except that I think the concept goes a little further than this, which perhaps more aptly translates the 'surfréquentation' given in Aude's 29 minute note
2 mins
yes, I agree that it means a little more than this if you take it literally. However, the same implications are there, although "spoilt by tourism" might perhaps be closer...?
agree Gacela20
12 mins
thanks Gacela!
agree Gad Kohenov : Close to my response to bcsantos.
18 mins
thanks desertfox - it is pretty close!
agree Victoria Porter-Burns : 'spoilt by tourism' is good
52 mins
many thanks Victoria!
agree Ingeborg Gowans (X)
2 hrs
thanks Ingeborg!
agree Irene McClure : sounds most natural to me
2 hrs
thanks Irene :)
agree cmwilliams (X)
3 hrs
thanks cmwilliams!
agree Mark Nathan
5 hrs
thanks Mark!
agree writeaway : everyday stuff but it works.
6 hrs
many thanks writeaway!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Perfect. Thanks Carol. Thanks to everybody for their input."
-1
15 mins

surfeit of food outlets catering for tourists

This is what I think it means.
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : It certainly doesn't specifically refer to 'food outlets' in the way you seem to be suggesting
2 mins
neutral Gad Kohenov : Maybe just an excess of tourists?
2 mins
Something went wrong...
-1
5 mins

touristic overgrazing

Googled the term

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Note added at 17 mins (2008-05-11 14:20:03 GMT)
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But Maria. It is really the best. See as a methafor
Note from asker:
I'm afraid I have to agree with desertfox as I too googled the term.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Gad Kohenov : I also tried the same idea. It does not appear together. I found "touristic. Overgrazing...." . But not the two words as one unit.
2 mins
Well overgrazing is sure! But I just imagined tourists overgrazing pastures! :)))))
disagree Tony M : The use of the adjective 'touristic' in this way is inappropriate. I do, and I did.
10 mins
If you insist go to a good ditionary
Something went wrong...
54 mins

over exploitation by the tourism industry

In plain English.
Peer comment(s):
neutral writeaway : but is that what the French says?
5 hrs
Something went wrong...
1 hr

comments only

I'm wondering if it wouldn't be too much, in keeping the metaphor, to add "overgrazing by herds of tourists", which includes a play on "hordes"? I think it might help to be a little more explicit in the translation.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I see what you're getting at, and it's certainly a nice attempt; my only fear is that by adding 'herds', one is rather tending to confirm an inadvertently literal interpretation. I feel it might be safer to stick with 'hordes' = implied pun on 'herds'?
13 mins
Something went wrong...
-2
21 mins

touristc surexploitation

I´m sure this is the best way to avoid cows

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Note added at 4 hrs (2008-05-11 18:49:05 GMT)
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http://www.eionet.europa.eu/gemet/concept?langcode=fr&cp=595...
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : As I said before, 'touristc' (sic) is not the right adjective to use here; and in addition, 'surexploitation' is not EN!! / Your ref. quotes a FRENCH definition; it gives the EN translation as 'overexploitation'
4 mins
disagree cmwilliams (X) : agree with Tony - this is not English
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

trampling by tourists

Issues of Concern
Trampling by people and livestock damages cliff top vegetation and disturbs nesting birds.
http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/drftp/8556.asp

Recovery of lowland grassland and heathland in southern England from disturbance from seasonal trampling.
www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/access/appraise/app3....

Tourist pressures on the heath... Footpath widened by visitor trampling, leading from the Education Centre to the ...
www.stacey.peak-media.co.uk/Dunwich/Heath-touristspphotos-2...

Tourist attractions ... rebuilt or access restricted to reduce the effects of tourists trampling down paths and vegetation. ...
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/tourism/touris...

Tourists using the same trail over and over again trample the vegetation and soil, ... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM. Trampling impacts on vegetation ...
www.geointeractive.co.uk/contribution/ppfiles/environmental...

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-05-11 21:14:50 GMT)
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surpâturage
Pacage excessif conduisant à une dégradation de la végétation, du sol.
TLF

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-05-11 21:15:39 GMT)
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Trample
2. verb trans. Tread heavily and esp. damagingly on; crush or break down by heavy treading.
OED
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I understand what you're saying — indeed, that was my initial reading too — but I feel that the 3rd threat is much more general: 'the impact of tourism'; 'trampling' seems to me too specific and out of place
12 mins
In my opinion they are talking about 4 very definite threats: pollution, construction, trampling and fire; the usual stuff that damages the coastline everywhere
neutral writeaway : it's one aspect of the overall problem-sounds more like the probs the Alps have with skiiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers, 4x4's and just too many people all year long. it's killing off nature in the entire region
34 mins
I think it's much simpler than everyone is making out; you have to ask yourself what is the direct effect of a huge number of tourists on the vegetation and I think you could stretch the word "trample" to take in any mode of transport too.
Something went wrong...
+3
32 mins

COMMENTS ONLY, NFG

I think this metaphor works really well, and is worth keeping in EN to retain the flavour of the author's clearly rather jaundiced view of tourism in this region.

Tourists may be seen as being like cattle, herded around in coaches, browsing here and there till the grass is bare, and then moving on (like locusts?) to strip somewhere else bare.

Please note that 'touristic' is not really the right adjective to use in this case; it is a common mistake, but 'touristique' in FR is something of a faux ami. 'touristic' can't really be used in the same way in EN to mean by or pertaining to tourists', the use of the suffix -ic suggesting rather '(the quality of being) attractive to tourists' (cf. scenic, etc.) — in any case, the use of this particular adjective often leads to clumsy and inelegant phrasing.

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Note added at 32 mins (2008-05-11 14:35:51 GMT)
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(Thanks, J-C !)

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Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-11 15:34:44 GMT)
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Very much in the vein of Carol's suggestion, I was just wondering about 'blighted by tourism'?

It's the sort of fairly emotive word often used in not-dissimilar contexts.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-05-11 21:11:09 GMT)
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Writeaway has made a very good point in his/her peer comment to Aude's answer — although I like the metaphor, I can see that the end reader, seeing it in isolation, might regard it as rather odd — standing out 'like a sore thumb', as it were.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-05-11 21:37:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Webster's online dictionary does give a definition of 'touristic' (though oddly, lists the domain as 'computing'?)

But a brief sampling of Google hits quickly reveals that very many occurrences come from (poorly?) translated French sites, rather tending to confirm my view that it is generally something of a 'faux ami'
Peer comment(s):
agree Bourth (X) : And I think "tourist" works as well as "touristic" and sounds a whole bunch better. Followed at a distance by "touristy".
1 hr
Thanks, Alex! Yes, I abhor this 'faux ami' of 'touristic', 'tourist' used epithetically is usually better; 'touristy' has yet another connotation...
agree Tricia Stuart : "blighted by tourism" certainly seems to render the idea in the original
9 hrs
Thanks, Tricia!
agree Sheila Wilson : Couldn't agree more about giving 'touristic' the elbow - I see it mainly as a poor translation by Francphones
21 hrs
Thanks, Sheila! It certainly doesn't even appear in my R + C
Something went wrong...
+6
7 mins

overgrazing by tourists/tourism

see
Overgrazing by domestic animals like sheep, goats, cows, mules, horses and yaks has been responsible for large scale degradation of the vegetative cover in ...
library.thinkquest.org/10131/problems_overgrazing.html

http://www.omegawiki.org/index.php?title=Expression:surpâtur...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overgrazing
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=133874


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Note added at 29 mins (2008-05-11 14:32:48 GMT)
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Maria, my links above relate to overgrazing, here is a ref with the whole expression - As you can see the terme is into quotes, that confirms Tony M's and my understanding that it is not a usual metaphore.

La surfréquentation ponctuelle de sites comme le Mont-Gerbier-de-Jonc est à l’origine d’un “surpâturage” touristique qui dénature ces sites emblématiques. ...
www.ardeche.equipement.gouv.fr/ IMG/pdf/xx_4_partie2_cle781378.pdf


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Note added at 33 mins (2008-05-11 14:36:54 GMT)
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sorry my note above is somewhat unclear: as Tony kindly mentioned in the Asker box, even in French I could only find 1 ghit, what confirms that it is not an usual expression in french, we can assume then that it's not usually used in english neither.

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Note added at 8 hrs (2008-05-11 22:50:53 GMT)
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I agree that the metaphor is odd, but we understood the meaning in Fr. : why would end-readers don't understand it in Eng.?? Or is it even odder in English than in French?

Besides, the Fr text is written with an informal style (both vocab and structure) and aims at shocking people, or at least it is quite provocative and alarmist (Risks and threats of pollution + "overgrazing by tourists" (or any other approp translation) + fires, and the place is on the verge of being destroyed !!) - I think then that an expression that surprises/shocks readers can work here (provided that said readers understand what they read of course -> see paragraph above)

Note from asker:
Thanks Aude for your input but I can't seem to find any reference to overgrazing by tourists/tourism in your links. I've also googled the term and found nothing.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Gad Kohenov : Tourists don't graze or overgraze. And tourists don't bring with them cows to a touristic resort. How do you explain this?
5 mins
même métaphore que ds la phrase française (les touristes ne pâturent pas...)
agree Tony M : Although of course it is not meant literally, I think this metaphor works equally well in EN as in the source text. / No Googles because it's an original term; what's wrong with colourful, inventive language? The meaning is abundantly clear.
7 mins
thank you Tony, that was my view also!
agree Jean-Claude Gouin : As usual, Tony, you're right.
24 mins
thank you, 1045
agree Carol Gullidge : I too like the metaphor: even if it's NEVER ever been used before, it works really well in English
24 mins
thank you, Carol
agree Bourth (X) : with term. As clear and unusual in English as in French. Must be vegetarian tourists.
2 hrs
Thank you Bourth... yes, probably.
agree Simon Mac
2 hrs
thank you yx
agree Emma Paulay : Maybe add "flocks", as in sheep, a term often associated with large groups of tourists
3 hrs
thank you Emma, yes that's a possibility too
neutral writeaway : in the real world, away from Kudoz and with no French text to show where it came from, this is going to look strange. /sounds too concocted. too translated. we do have overrun which is run of the mill English but works fine here
6 hrs
It looks as strange as it does in French actually, but the meaning is clear in both languages - I think it fits if Maria wishes to retain this metaphor
neutral cmwilliams (X) : agree with writeaway. This sounds very odd to me and I don't agree that it works well as a metaphor in English.
19 hrs
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

tourism overkill

Another possibility?

See:

Destinations Rated: Islands @ National Geographic TravelerThe world's most appealing destinations—islands—are the ones most prone to tourism overkill. Our 522 experts vote on which ones avoid the danger, ...
www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/features/islandsrated07... - 54k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Scotland: Scotland: Media Center25 Jan 2008 ... A total of 522 sustainable tourism experts drew up a list of islands which have avoided tourist overkill. Islands in the survey were ranked ...
www.cometoscotland.com/cgi-bin/mediacenter.cgi?view,13 - 39k
Something went wrong...
11 hrs

being swamped by tourists

Another suggestion.
Something went wrong...
+3
2 hrs

overwhelmed by flocks of tourists

a keep at least part of the metaphor and still sound a bit natural - sorry but "overgrazing" does not work for me

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Note added at 17 hrs (2008-05-12 07:41:17 GMT)
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frankly I don't see it so much as locusts as of excessive transhumance - in the winter the place is (relatively) quiet and in the summer the hordes arrive and there is not enough "grass" to go round. Today for example there is nobody in the pool but in August you can't see the water for people....
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : Yes, for sounding more natural; but I still can't help thinking there's a bit more to it; like a flock of locusts, stripping a place and then moving on...
11 mins
agree cmwilliams (X) : I don't like "overgrazing" either
2 hrs
agree B D Finch : Grazing tourists would not be very good for restauranteurs.
2 hrs
neutral writeaway : overgrazing sounds like they're eating all food in the area. Overwhelmed sounds like they can't cope with the flocks-they can, but it shifts the emphasis of the problem./too true.
5 hrs
true but overgrazing sound stupid in English whereas surpâturage sounds cute
Something went wrong...
19 hrs

touristic saturation

/
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Not really very natural-sounding English, J-J — and please see my earlier coments about 'touristic' — 'tourist' used epithetically is usually much to be preferrred / Fine, thanks... and laughing regularly!
1 hr
Howdey my good man, you certainly got a point here, after reading your comments I intended to enter "tourist..." but I must have been side tracked & here is the result !!!! How are you ?
Something went wrong...
1 day 8 hrs

stripped by tourists

Another possibility. I like Tony's comparison with Locusts, which made me think of this.
Something went wrong...
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